The Ethics Behind the Challenger Explosion

The explosion of the Challenger spacecraft is the greatest tragedy in the history of NASA. It is also one of the most heated engineering ethical debates available for analysis. The question of whether or not the astronauts had the proper information to consent the launch is one of the main aspects of the debate. When looking at this case, it is obvious that whether or not there was informed consent by the astronauts plays a …

…head engineers at Thiokol made a recommendation to NASA to delay the launch based on the data, or lack there of, concerning the stability of the O-ring at such cold temperatures. If the astronauts had this information, from the head engineers, it is hard to believe that they would have given their own consent to the launch. The idea that NASA management circumvented the astronauts and made the decision themselves is the more likely scenario.